podcasts pour tous les Acadiens

OUT TO LUNCH finds creative business consultant Aileen Bennett conducting business Acadiana style: over lunch. Each week Aileen invites guests from Acadiana's business community to join her. Beyond the foundations of the Acadiana economy - oil, cuisine, music - there is a vast network of entrepreneurs, small businesses, and even some of the country's largest companies who call Acadiana home. Out to Lunch is the cafeteria of the wider Acadiana business community. You can also hear the show on KRVS 88.7FM.

As we have seen once again, as a result of the catastrophic rain and floods in recent weeks, one of the hallmarks of life in Acadiana, including business life, is an awareness of the importance of giving back.
Both during times of urgent need, and in times of less urgency, one effective way of returning wealth to the community is by way of the Community Foundation of Acadiana.
Since its founding in... Read More »

You’ve probably seen the cartoon where a dog is sitting at a computer. He’s looking down at his doggy friend, explaining to him, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”
Similarly, on the internet you can be a big dog in online business, a computing superstar, and nobody knows you’re in Acadiana.
Like, for example, Doug Menefee.
Doug is a nationally recognized leader and innovator in technology. He’s advised companies like Amazon,... Read More »

If you didn’t live in Acadiana you’d probably believe that the one constant around the world is time. In Acadiana we know that’s not true. We don’t divide up the year by traditional seasons. Unlike most places, it’s too unpredictable. Some years we’ll have a Spring that might last a week before the onslaught of Summer. Other years late Summer can provide Spring-like Fall weather all the way to Thanksgiving. So we’ve... Read More »

The way this show works is, we invite a couple of people who are in business in Acadiana to have lunch. Usually, they’re people who we think will get along, or might enjoy meeting each other, because they have similar business interests. On this edition of Out to Lunch we're changing things up.
Peter's guests at the lunch table have nothing in common. Well, almost nothing.
One of them is one of... Read More »

One of the things you hear from people who visit Southwest Louisiana is that we’ve got our priorities right. What they mean by that is, we know there’s more to life than work. It doesn’t mean we don’t like to work. Quite the opposite. We have the most dedicated and industrious workforce you’ll find anywhere. But we like to play as hard as we work.
Sometimes that play is, as you’d expect,... Read More »

Somewhere along the line in the path of human progress we figured out fermentation. Eating fermented food might not have been all that useful in maintaining health and nutrition, but it sure felt good. And later, once we invented currency, people bought fermented goods in bottles and cans with romantic names that hinted at sophistication, like Budweiser, and Schlitz.
Over the last decade, beer sophistication has become a reality. There’s been an... Read More »

We live in a nation where we pride ourselves on individual achievement. When things go wrong, we look for reasons and explanations. When things go right, we put it down to our own hard work. And a little bit of luck. The truth is, of course, that achieving success – or sometimes just managing to get through a day – takes more than individual hard work and happenstance. Sometimes we plain and... Read More »

Cherry Fisher May, publisher of ABiz, sits in for Peter on this show to talk about healthcare. And dogs.
If it seems like the conversation about healthcare in the United States is never ending, between the ever-changing policies of your personal health insurance, and the government level debate over the Affordable Care Act, one thing is for sure about Acadiana healthcare: nothing is going to change in the next 30 minutes. That’s... Read More »

I’m sure that – like most folks around here - living in Acadiana has advantages that you wouldn’t trade for anything. But, despite the great food, music, and generally unbeatable lifestyle, I’m sure you also assume there’s only so much you can achieve here. Especially in business. Things like technology innovations. They come from Silicon Valley. Right? Nationally known alcohol distilleries are in places like Kentucky and New Jersey.
It’s time to change... Read More »

One of the pieces of advice you often hear when you’re deciding on a career is, “Do something you love.” Inherent in this advice is the underlying assumption that “work” and things you love – like enjoying yourself - are two distinctly different undertakings. When we’re kids that distinction is way more blurred. Everything can be fun. Even school. Starting with Pre-school.
Jonathan Pearce is having 4 times as much fun as... Read More »

If you’ve been out to dinner, drinks, or hung out with friends over the last couple of years, there’s a good chance you’ve been in more than one conversation about the state of the energy business in Acadiana.
Here at Out to Lunch we’ve talked about it a lot too. And we’ve finally come up with a great idea. What if we talked to people about the energy business who actually... Read More »

Cherry Fisher May, publisher of Acadiana's business magazine ABiz, sits in for Peter Ricchiuti on this edition of Out to Lunch.
Cherry admits she doesn't have any NPR, Out to Lunch or ABiz research to back this up, but statistically she estimates per square inch there’s more great food in Acadiana than anywhere in the nation.
Because you live here - and maybe were even raised here, you know all about it.... Read More »